Written Answers

Tuesday 7 November 2000

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Rural Affairs Department has any plans to reintroduce the five-year set aside scheme.

Ross Finnie: No. The five-year set-aside scheme was a stand-alone EU scheme for taking land out of agricultural production and pre-dated the Arable Area Payments Scheme.

  It is now closed and there are no plans to re-introduce it.

Ambulance Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum required level of equipment is in ambulances in Glasgow and how many Glasgow ambulances meet those requirements in terms of functioning equipment.

Susan Deacon: All new Accident and Emergency ambulance vehicles are commissioned into service fully equipped to the specification current at the time of procurement. Operational arrangements are in place to maintain the ambulances to the specification standard. There are no equipment shortages, although there are occasions when ambulance crews are obliged to leave equipment, such as cervical collars and spinal boards, with the patient on arrival at hospital. These are retrieved later once x rays have been taken and a diagnosis confirmed.

Ambulance Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how old equipment in Glasgow ambulances is on average.

Susan Deacon: Accident and Emergency ambulances carry consumables, such as drugs and dressings, and equipment. Consumables are replaced as they are used. Equipment is replaced when necessary.

Ambulance Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for members of the public in Glasgow who call an ambulance to their home in an emergency situation.

Susan Deacon: The average response time to an emergency call in Glasgow is 9.9 minutes.

Ambulance Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what precautions are being taken, during the creation of more non-emergency operations centres for ambulances, to ensure that patients are not subjected to non-expert diagnosis.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what precautions are being taken, during the creation of more non-emergency operations centres for ambulances, to ensure that patients are not subject to any delays in treatment as a result of being transferred to another location or hospital in order to receive expert treatment.

Susan Deacon: A key element of the Scottish Ambulance Service’s Operations Rooms Review is the separation of the Non-Emergency Service control function from the Accident and Emergency function. Non-Emergency Service controls will in future operate from an increased number of hospital and regionally based sites, providing a more flexible, locally based service to better meet the needs of non-emergency patients. Non-emergency staff will not handle emergency calls and the service will continue to take emergency cases to the nearest appropriate hospital.

Climate Change Levy

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the letter of 4 October 2000 from Ross Finnie to me regarding the Climate Change Levy (CCL) and the Scottish tomato industry, whether, given that the CCL discount amounts to 50% whereas Dutch tomato growers are to receive 100%, it is making representations to Her Majesty’s government with regard to this differential and whether any assessment has been made of the impact of this differential discount on the viability of the Scottish tomato industry.

Ross Finnie: The 100% exemption from the energy tax enjoyed by the Dutch horticulture sector ended in 1999 and only covered natural gas, LPG, semi-heavy oil and gas oil. They still benefit from a much reduced rate for these fuels, but this is balanced by the fact that they pay the full rate for electricity, and receive no special treatment under other taxes on energy products.

  The Scottish Executive’s position on greenhouse gas reductions is that every energy user in every sector and geographical area in Scotland should contribute to meeting the UK’s Kyoto commitments. However, the UK Government has recognised the special position of horticulture as an energy intensive sector, exposed to international competition but not eligible for a negotiated agreement. In addition to the 50% discount, which applies for five years not only to gas and oil but also to coal and electricity, the package of benefits to the horticulture sector will also include:

  targeted support from the climate change levy energy efficiency fund;

  an extension to the list of investments qualifying for enhanced capital allowances to include thermal screens.

  It is extremely difficult to make a meaningful comparison between the horticulture sectors in different countries because several other factors affecting costs need to be taken into account in addition to Climate Change Levy arrangements, including the relevant rates of other forms of taxation.

Employment

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has, or intends to compile, any data on the number of people resident in Scotland who regularly work in the North of England.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The UK-wide Labour Force Survey, which is run by the Office for National Statistics, asks people where they work and collects information on where they live. Latest figures, for summer 2000, show that around 12,000 people are resident in Scotland, but work in the North of England.

Employment

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has, or intends to compile, any data on the number of people resident in the North of England who regularly work in Scotland.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The UK-wide Labour Force Survey, which is run by the Office for National Statistics, asks people where they work and collects information on where they live. Latest figures, for summer 2000, show that around 22,000 people are resident in the North of England, but work in Scotland.

Fisheries

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount is allocated for fishing vessel safety in the aid package for the fishing industry announced recently.

Rhona Brankin: As I announced yesterday, a key concern is to promote an improved safety culture in the fishing industry. We therefore propose to make up to £0.5 million available in each of the next three financial years to promote and deliver safety training for fishermen in Scotland. We will also be making additional funds available to support testing and trials of innovative or experimental safety equipment intended to help prevent accidents and improve safety at sea.

  The measures have been drawn up as part of a co-ordinated safety initiative throughout the UK and following extensive discussions and consultation between representatives of the industry and the relevant Government Departments.

Fisheries

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the commencement date is for fishing vessel safety grants under the fishing industry aid package announced recently.

Rhona Brankin: The safety training measures I announced yesterday are intended to be implemented from 1 April next year, following the necessary course development and other preparatory work. Grants for the testing and trials of innovative or experimental safety equipment will be available as soon as the FIFG aid schemes in Scotland are opened up to the industry. That is intended to be before the end of the year in the case of the Highlands and Islands programme, and as soon as possible thereafter for the rest of Scotland, once the European Commission has approved the FIFG plan for the area.

Fisheries

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether safety grants made available under the recently announced fishing industry aid package are available for fishing vessels whose construction commenced prior to the introduction of the aid package and, if not, whether it will approve grants for such vessels.

Rhona Brankin: The safety training and equipment grant measures I announced yesterday will be available regardless of the date of construction of any fishing vessels involved.

Health

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to information management and technology issues in the preparation of the Scottish Health Plan.

Susan Deacon: A wide range of health-related issues is being considered in the context of the forthcoming Scottish Health Plan, including the key part information management and technology has to play in the modernisation of the NHS.

NHS Equipment

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make use of leasing rather than purchasing to facilitate the modernisation of technology in Scottish hospitals.

Susan Deacon: NHS Trusts have the flexibility to lease or purchase equipment. It is a local decision for them and will depend on the type of equipment required, its expected life, priorities for the use of available capital and the achievement of best value for money.

NHS Equipment

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to modernise technology in Scottish hospitals.

Susan Deacon: The Government is committed to the use of modern technologies across the NHS in Scotland. On 6 July additional funds totalling £30 million were announced for medical and IM&T equipment. The funds were allocated in August to health boards and Trusts who were given some flexibility to deal with local priorities but were asked to adhere to a number of priority areas. These were:

  radiology equipment including MRI and CT Scanners;

  improvements to equipment used in the treatment of coronary heart disease including stroke;

  refurbishment of facilities for mental health patients;

  decontamination and sterilisation systems, and

  IM&T systems for basic IM&T infrastructure and systems in support of mental health and electronic patient records.

NHS Waiting Times

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the waiting times for a hernia operation in the Fife Health Board area both in the short and long term.

Susan Deacon: Waiting times for specific treatments in individual health board areas are matters for the boards and Trusts. The Scottish Executive has provided additional funding for the Health Service this year, and we have announced further real terms funding increases over the years 2003-04. We are also working with NHS Trusts to encourage them to develop and adopt new processes and ways of working which are designed to suit patients and to reduce avoidable waiting.

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of a local holiday.

Mr Jim Wallace: There is no statutory definition of a local holiday. Dates of local holidays vary from area to area across Scotland and are usually agreed between local government, local business interests and other interested local parties. Such holidays often have their roots in historical events of significance to the locality or represent the traditional holiday period in that area. Local holidays are not prescriptive and employers are not obliged to give employees leave on any such day, subject to the terms of any contract of employment. The dates of local holidays across Scotland can be obtained from the publication Scottish Public Holidays 2000 , a copy of which has been placed in SPICe for reference purposes (Bib. no. 9399).

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of a bank holiday.

Mr Jim Wallace: Bank holidays in the United Kingdom are established under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 (C.80). The 1971 Act provides that banks are not liable for failing to process certain transactions on such a day. Schedule 1 to the 1971 Act prescribes the dates recognised as bank holidays in the United Kingdom, though that list may be supplemented by an annual Royal Proclamation of additional bank holidays. Bank holidays are not prescriptive and employers are not obliged to give employees leave on any such day, subject to the terms of any contract of employment. A full list of Scottish bank holidays for this year is set out in the publication Scottish Public Holidays 2000 , a copy of which has been placed in SPICe for reference purposes (Bib. no. 9399).

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the dates are of public holidays in 2000 and in which areas of Scotland each date applies.

Mr Jim Wallace: There is no definition of a public holiday in Scotland, although the phrase is sometimes used as a generic term to refer to both bank and local holidays. Bank holidays have their basis in the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 and their dates are consistent across Scotland. Local holidays are not prescribed in statute, but vary from area to area across Scotland; they are usually agreed between local government, local business interests and other interested local parties. The dates of both bank and local holidays across Scotland can be obtained from the publication Scottish Public Holidays 2000 , a copy of which has been placed in SPICe for reference purposes (Bib. no. 9399).

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the dates are of bank holidays in 2000.

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the dates are of local holidays in 2000 by local authority area.

Mr Jim Wallace: These dates are set out in the publication Scottish Public Holidays 2000 , a copy of which has been placed in SPICe for reference purposes (Bib. no. 9399).

Public Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have been awarded capital allocations from the Public Transport Fund, how much they each received, when they received it and for what projects.

Sarah Boyack: The table below lists the awards made to date from the Public Transport Fund. In addition, commitments from the previous Government’s Transport Challenge Fund and South Fife Rail are being met from the PTF.

  


Authority


Project


Total PTF Award
(£ million)


1999-2000
(£ million)


2000-01 (£ million)


2001-02 (£ million)


2002-03 (£ million)




Aberdeen


A96/A956 Bus Priority and Park & 
Ride


£4.000


£1.000


£2.000


£1.000







Aberdeen


Bus Priority and Park & Ride


£3.300





£0.800


£1.500


£1.000




Aberdeenshire


Ellon Park & Ride


£0.600


£0.300


£0.300










Aberdeenshire


Peterhead and Mintlaw Park & 
Ride 


£0.745





£0.660


£0.085







Argyll & Bute


Port Askaig Harbour Redevelopment


£3.750





£3.000


£0.750







Clackmannanshire


Alloa Town Centre Transport Interchange


£0.300


£0.300













Dumfries & Galloway


Stranraer Public Transport Interchange


£2.350





£0.020


£1.000


£1.330




Dumfries & Galloway


Dumfries Transport Initiative


£0.900


£0.400


£0.300


£0.200







Dundee


Bus Priority and Real Time Information


£0.475


£0.475













Dundee


North East Arterial Corridor


£1.325





£0.250


£0.525


£0.550




East Ayrshire


Kilmarnock and Cumnock Bus Stations


£0.590





£0.590










East Lothian


Railway Stations Improvements


£0.312





£0.245


£0.067







East Lothian (on behalf of SESTRAN)


South East Scotland Travelticket 



£0.300


£0.075


£0.125


£0.100







East Renfrewshire


Disabled Access to Railway Stations


£0.467





£0.467










Edinburgh


Crossrail


£8.000


£0.500


£3.000


£4.500







Edinburgh


A90 Phase 2 Bus Priority 


£0.800





£0.800










Eilean Siar


Eriskay Causeway


£4.100


£0.900


£2.000


£1.200







Falkirk


Railway Station Access Programme


£0.350


£0.230


£0.120










Falkirk


Bus Station and Bus Priority 


£0.345





£0.245


£0.100







Fife


Inverkeithing Interchange and Airport 
link


£1.020





£0.250


£0.770







Glasgow


Baillieston to Faifley Bus Priority 
*


£4.750


£1.300


£2.200


£1.250







Glasgow 


Quality Bus Corridors


£6.600





£1.000


£2.800


£2.800




Highland


Corran Ferry Replacement Vessel


£0.265


£0.265













Midlothian


Sheriffhall Roundabout Cycle Bridge


£0.802





£0.802










North Lanarkshire


Gartcosh Interchange


£1.260





£1.260










Orkney Islands


North Isles Airfields


£0.323





£0.323










Perth and Kinross


Perth Bus and Cycle Priority 


£0.423





£0.423










Renfrewshire


Integrated Transport Improvements 



£0.650





£0.650










South Ayrshire


Ayr Bus Priority


£1.850





£0.750


£1.100







Stirling


Stirling Bus Priority


£0.447





£0.150


£0.297







Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority


Partick Interchange


£3.500


£2.000


£1.500










Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority


Improved Rolling Stock


£1.400





£1.400










West Dunbartonshire


Baillieston to Faifley Bus Priority 
*


£1.300


£0.750


£0.300


£0.250







West Lothian


Forthtrip Express


£0.270


£0.270
















National Public Transport Timetable


£0.500





£0.350


£0.150







  *Joint Project

Rail Network

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the report on rail links to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports will be published and what the remit is for those drawing up the report.

Sarah Boyack: Strategic surface access links to Edinburgh and Glasgow Airports are being considered as part of the Scottish Airports and Air Services Study. The findings of that study will be made publicly available as part of the supporting documentation of the Regional Air Service Co-ordination Study when the consultation documents are published.

Residential Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether charging older people for personal care through compulsory sale of their home accords with Article 1 of The First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether charging older people for personal care through compulsory sale of their home accords with Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Malcolm Chisholm: Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights legislation is a matter for the courts in the particular circumstances of each application.

Road Safety

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on road safety campaigning during financial year 1999-2000 and how much it intends to spend in 2000-01.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive provides funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign for the development of key road safety educational resources and publicity messages. The campaign has produced a range of excellent resources and conducted highly effective publicity campaigns.

  In the financial year 1999-2000, Scottish Executive funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign was £1,752,000

  At present in the financial year 2000-01, there is a provision of £1,745,000. This will be increased to £2,269,000 subject to the agreement of the Scottish Parliament to The Budget (Scotland) Act 2000 (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2000.

Telecommunications

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9958 by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000, whether the proposed consultation will focus only on ground-based masts and will exclude other installations, such as those sited on buildings such as schools and hospitals.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The consultation exercise will extend beyond the installation of ground-based telecommunications masts.

Telecommunications

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9958 by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000, when the consultation pack will be issued.

Mr Sam Galbraith: My intention is to issue the consultation package in November.

Telecommunications

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about including an obligation relating to the extent of the coverage to be provided, particularly in rural areas of Scotland, as one of the conditions which will apply to third generation mobile phone licence holders and what the outcome was of any such discussions.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has regular discussions with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including telecoms.

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many projects have received support from the (a) Freight Facilities Grant, (b) Rail Passenger Partnership Fund and (c) Infrastructure Investment Fund since their inception, what the projects were, how much each project received and when.

Sarah Boyack: There have been nine awards of Freight Facilities Grant since 1990 by the Secretary of State for Scotland and Scottish Ministers and one award in Scotland from the Rail Passenger Partnership Fund. There have been no awards from the Infrastructure Investment Fund as its implementation has been deferred by the shadow Strategic Rail Authority. The table below shows the details of each project.

  Freight Facilities Grants Awarded Since 1990

  


Company


Project Description


Amount of Total Grant 
Awarded
£


Date
Awarded




Deanside Transit


Develop existing rail terminal facilities 
at Hillington


3,045,000


August 1997




Safeway Stores


To move goods by rail from Bellshill 
to five stores in the Inverness area.


680,000


November 1998




H J Banks


Provide facilities to move coal by 
rail to various locations from Lanarkshire


873,000


July 1999




LAW Mining


Provide facilities to move coal by 
rail to various locations from Ayrshire


2,548,000


September 1999




TDG Nexus


Towards an open-access multi-modal 
rail freight facility at Grangemouth to distribute chemical products 
GB wide


9,700,000
(DETR to pay
two-thirds)


September 1999




Associated British 
Ports


To provide freight handling facilities 
at the port of Ayr and the lease of a vessel to move timber from 
Ardishaig and Campbeltown to Ayr 


4,410,000


February 2000




ST Services


Develop a rail terminal at Leith 
docks to transport chemical products to Dalry and Irvine in Ayrshire


874,000


March 2000




Forth Ports


Re-instatement of railway line to 
move Blue Circle cement from Leith Docks to Dunbar


81,000


March 2000




Safeway Stores


A second award to extend services 
to Thurso, Wick, Kirkwall and Ullapool


896,000


March 2000




  Rail Passenger Partnership Fund Awards

  


Project


Project Description


Amount Awarded
£


Date
Awarded




Edinburgh Crossrail


Development of rail passenger services 
in Edinburgh


800,000


March 2000

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money will be allocated to Scotland during the current financial year under the (a) Freight Facilities Grant, (b) Track Access Grant, (c) Public Transport Fund, (d) Rail Passenger Partnership Fund and (e) Infrastructure Investment Fund.

Sarah Boyack: The public expenditure provision by the Scottish Executive in the financial year 2000-01 is £7.1 million for Freight Facilities Grants and £30 million in additional capital consents via the Public Transport Fund.

  The level of Track Access Grant allocated to Scotland has not been finalised with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

  The allocation to Scotland from the Rail Passenger Partnership Fund during the financial year 2000-01 is £800,000. The implementation of the Infrastructure Investment Fund has been deferred by the shadow Strategic Rail Authority.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Scottish Parliament Publications

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how much money the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has spent to date on producing and sending out internal Parliament documents which are duplicated on the Intranet.

Sir David Steel: Most of the Parliament’s publications are made available both on the Internet (not the Intranet) and in printed form. This is to ensure that information about the Parliament and its work is accessible equally to all parts of society. Print publication costs for Core Parliament Publications (Business Bulletin, Minutes of Proceedings, Official Report, Written Answers Report, Committee Official Reports, Committee Reports, Bills, WHISP) from May 1999 to end September 2000 are £253,911. On average 93% of these documents are delivered to the SPICe Document Supply Service, the balance being retained by the product owners or issued to the media, the Legal Office and Public Information, among others. Despatch costs, i.e. the shipping of Parliament documents between the Print Centre and the Parliament, are an average £689 per month, although some 10% of these costs relate to other ad hoc Parliament publications. Costs of sending Core Publications to MSPs’ local offices are an average £541 per month.

Scottish Parliament Publications

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has any plans to question Parliament staff and MSPs on what they need by way of paper documents which are duplicated on the Intranet and whether it will adjust its mailing lists accordingly.

Sir David Steel: The Information Systems Manager maintains a close watch on Parliament staff requirements for paper documents before authorising payment of invoices, to ensure that only those that are needed are produced. This figure fluctuates depending on the perceived importance, usually in terms of media interest, of committee reports in particular. Otherwise only those copies that are explicitly required are printed, and thus costs are kept to a minimum. MSPs are entitled to two printed copies of each of the Parliament’s core publications (Business Bulletin, Minutes of Proceedings, Official Report, Written Answers Report, Committee Official Reports, Committee Reports, Bills, WHISP). The SPICe Document Supply Service encourages MSPs to use the electronic version on the Internet, but will supply printed copies where this is preferred. Individual MSPs must stipulate in writing if printed rather than electronic copies are required.